


When I'm With You

by shima_wishes



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien/Marinette - Freeform, Adrinette, Adrinette Relationship, Alya/Nino Implied, F/M, Shy Marinette, date, pre-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-16 06:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5817616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shima_wishes/pseuds/shima_wishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even though Marinette and Adrien have been dating for weeks, Marinette still has the tendency to be shy around him, even at the best of times. As her best friend, Alya feels that it's her duty to do something about it - throwing Adrien into the dark when she decides to try to be their own personal cupid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nuts and Bolts

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually based on an episode from the anime Clannad, with Miraculous Ladybug characters integrated into it. It's not a crossover, I just used parts of the general plot to provide a framework for what's going to happen. [Side-note within a side-note: if you haven't seen Clannad, I would totally recommend you watch it. It's beautiful, hilarious, and heart-breaking all at once.] It will probably have two chapters unless I come up with a plot that can continue from it. Anyway, here we go!

"Adrien!"

Adrien halted at the sound of a commanding voice coming from behind him. He raised an eyebrow at Nino, praying that the voice had not come from Chloé. He wasn't ready to face another bout of her ridiculous whining and scathing marks about Marinette today. He had been through all that far too many times; it seemed to be the only reason she ever said even a word to him these days.

It was because of that that it was to his complete and utter relief to see Alya standing there when he turned around, hands on her hips and a... mischevious?... expression on her face. His relief quickly turned to tentative suspicion as she smirked at him and pointed a finger towards his face.

"Adrien! I need to talk to you," she said, grabbing his arm and instantly beginning to drag him off. "Come with me."

Alya was strong-willed and, even at the best of times, Adrien found it difficult to overcome the sheer amount of force contained in her being. Sometimes, he doubted he could even top her as Chat Noir. Today was not one of those days where he was up to fighting against her. Marinette was apparently visiting the dentist for the first lesson of the day, so he wouldn't be able to see her until later on, and Natalie had been in a particularly bad mood this morning. Adrien was already feeling tired enough to go back to bed.

"Hey, what about me?" Nino called after them, making a move to follow.

"Stay out of this, Nino," warned Alya, narrowing her eyes at him over her shoulder. "If you do, I'll buy you some ice cream later. However many scoops you like."

At that, Nino brightened up significantly. He grinned and gave Adrien a wave before turning in the other direction. Adrien rolled his eyes. Nino would do anything for ice cream, including abandoning his best friend. It's not like he was afraid of Alya - she could just be a little... assertive, at times. He wondered if he had done anything wrong to do with Marinette. Alya would rip off the head of anyone who crossed her best friend in the wrong way, and that was an experience that really didn't appeal to him.

He found himself being unceremoniously shoved into the school's locker room. Most pupils were already at class, so the room was essentially empty but for some people that neither Adrien nor Alya knew. Alya dismissed them and smiled widely at Adrien. His suspicion deepened at her unreadable expression as she once again put her hands on her hips.

"So, Adrien. I have some questions about Marinette," she announced, still smiling at him.

Adrien studied her face carefully. He wanted to try to worm away, but he still couldn't quite tell what her intentions were. Was she angry, annoyed, disappointed, feigning excitement? Or was she genuinely happy about something? Not that he could escape from her, anyway, even if he wanted to. It looked like he was defeated. He sighed. "Alright. What is it?"

"I'll just get straight to the point, since we're gonna be late for class if we don't hurry. Are you happy with your relationship with Marinette? Completely happy?" she asked.

Adrien blinked in surprise. That was the last question he expected to be asked. Fear caught in his throat in the form of a lump, and he responded, "Of course I am. Why? Is Marinette unhappy?"

She let out a laugh. "Oh, no, nothing like that! It's nothing like that at all. But, is there really nothing you would change about your relationship? Nothing you would change about Marinette?"

"Of course not," frowned Adrien. He found this to be a strange question to be being asked, by Marinette's best friend, of all people. "Why would I? I- well, I love Marinette the way she is already."

Alya's face twisted into a smirk and scrunched up as she started to laugh. "Oh my God, you're blushing so much, it's actually kinda hilarious. Anyway, you can't just say 'nothing', you have to tell me something. Any one thing you would change about her. Anything at all."

There was clearly no way Adrien was going to be able to slip out of this situation without giving Alya what she wanted, but he also didn't want to betray Marinette. He was even slightly concerned that this was a trap so that Alya could catch him out for saying something bad about her best friend, but that would make no sense; she had been determined to get the two together for months. At the same time, it was hard for Adrien to identify anything about Marinette that he would want to change. He liked her as she was - that was the reason he was dating her.

After about two minutes, he finally dredged up some kind of vague answer. "Well, I suppose she's still a little shy around me at times, but... that's all. And it's not such a big deal."

"Good enough for me!" Replied Alya, slapping him on the shoulder. "I had an inkling that's what you would come up with anyway. Alright. Class time. See you there."

Adrien relaxed as she exited the room, leaning back against the lockers and running a hand through his hair. What a weird start to the morning. He couldn't help but wonder what it was all about.

 

* * *

 

Throughout lessons during the day, Adrien caught Marinette glancing at him an unusual amount. It wasn't that they didn't usually end up inadvertedly staring at each other a lot; but he noticed that it was starkly more than usual. He didn't get the chance to talk to her until their lunch break, and by that point he was beginning to fret a lot more about his conversation with Alya. What had she told Marinette? Had her forthright questions actually meant what he had feared?

He decided it would be best if he caught her on the way out of the classroom, so that there wouldn't be anyone else around, and they could talk in private about it. But when he looked up from his designer school bag after he had packed his belongings away, she was already gone.

Nino waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, dude... what's with the gormless look? You look like someone just sucked your brains out."

"Thanks for that vision, Nino," Adrien said, but he didn't have the usual tone of humour in his voice that tended to come after his best friend's distasteful remarks. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"So, this is nothing to do with what Alya had to say to you earlier, then? It's not about Marinette?" Nino asked as the pair got up to leave the classroom, side-eyeing his friend curiously. It wasn't particularly unusual for Adrien to seem a bit out-of-it, if his father had been especially hard on him that day. What was out of the ordinary was his tone of voice. Usually Nino was able to at least make him brighten up a little more than he had today.

"Seriously, it's nothing. Don't worry abou-"

"Uh, Adrien! I, um, w-well, I... I need to talk to you for a moment!"

The two were interrupted by a flustered Marinette, who was standing just to the side of the door, only on the wrong side so that the door formed a barrier between her body and theirs. She laughed nervously and stepped to the side so that she was standing almost in front of them, before scratching the back of her head and looking at the floor. "Nino, sorry, but... would you be able to step out for a few minutes? I need to talk to Adrien alone... just for a moment, if that's okay."

"Are you kidding me? First Alya, and now you? Marinette, tell me something. Is this a conspiracy?" responded Nino, hoisting his bag further up onto his shoulder.

"Alya said she's ready to buy you some ice cream. She's waiting in the locker room."

"Oh, seriously? Yahoo!" He cried, instantly turning to run down the corridor and only stopping to wish Adrien adieu as an afterthought. "Good luck, man."

Then he was gone, and Adrien and Marinette were alone.


	2. Cinnamon and Vanilla

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I managed to get it done so it came out a week after the previous chapter! As I expected, this is the second and final chapter of this fic. I hope you enjoy reading the ~thrilling~ conclusion!

On any other day, Adrien would have been happy to have spent a little time alone with Marinette. Today, however, he leaned against the wall and looked awkwardly down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs. He was trying to think of something normal to say to her, but his head was crowded with intrusive thoughts: about her being disappointed, unhappy, afraid. He didn't want to lose her like he had lost his mother's love and his father's love. That was an ordeal he couldn't go through again.

"So, uh, Adrien. I have a request to ask of you," Marinette said, smiling forcibly as she tried to keep her composure.

"A request?" echoed Adrien, frowning slightly. That didn't seem very foreboding to him. "Of course. Anything for you, Princess."

Her face flushed bright red and a smile tweaked at the corner of his lips. His anxiety began to ease away as he let the door close behind him, and he leaned against the frame, waiting patiently as she dredged up the courage to ask him whatever it was she had to say.

"W-well, I was wondering if you wanted to, uh, go on a d-da- oh, I can't say that... if you were free after school today?" she blurted out her words as quickly as possible. All the while, her eyes had been darting to and fro between Adrien's eyes and the floor. She could almost feel his eyes burning a hole into her head.

Adrien's heart leapt, but he kept his cool. Marinette had never asked him on a date before. He considered the fact that his father usually arranged for a chauffeur to pick him up after school, but dismissed the thought, deciding to call Natalie and see if he could persuade her to cancel it. "Sure," he said, smiling at his girlfriend and resting his hand on her head. She jolted in surprise. "I would be honoured to accompany you after school today."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Marinette grinned widely. She couldn't help but think about how Chat-like Adrien seemed right now - but she shook the thought from her head almost as quickly as it had arrived. "Great... well, I have to go now, but I'll see you later, then!"

"Wait, Marinette! Couldn't we eat lunch together?" Adrien called, practically reaching out after her.

Marinette bit her lip. She so badly wanted to. But... "I'm sorry, Adrien, I can't. I'll see you in class."

From then on, Adrien's mood shifted dramatically. He spent the rest of the classes of the day impatiently bouncing his leg underneath the table; so much so that Nino had to slap his knee to get him to stop. Grinning apologetically at his friend, Adrien had planted his feet firmly onto the floor before putting his head down and diligently getting back to work, only to catch himself bouncing his leg again no more than five minutes later. What was wrong with him? He loved Marinette more than anything or anyone - not that he had many other people who he could love as much as her - but she never usually made him like this. Maybe it was the fact that she herself had invited him on a real date. It wasn't that they hadn't technically been on dates before, it was just that Adrien was usually the instigator, and-

He was drawn out of his inner monologue by the realisation that Nino was nudging him under the table again, and nearly turned to whisper an explanation before he noticed the teacher standing in front of them. She had her arms crossed, lips pursed, foot tapping on the floor, quite obviously waiting for him to say something. "Uh, I'm sorry, Miss. Can you please repeat the question?"

Chloé snickered off to one side. Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien saw Marinette's head snap to glare in her direction. He resisted the urge to grin.

The teacher sighed in exasperation. "You seem to have had your head in the clouds a lot today, Master Agreste. What are you thinking about?"

"Mari- I mean, uhh, nothing, Miss! I was just... thinking about how... Physics is such an interesting subject..."

Which, luckily, was something he really did think. Other than Marinette, it was the first thing that had popped into his head. He could feel Nino laughing beside him, so he swiftly stamped on his foot. The laughing stopped.

"Ah, good. If you enjoy Physics so much, then you will surely know the answer to my question. How exactly can lasers be described?"

Grinning widely, as he somehow remembered a lot about lasers, Adrien responded, "A narrow, intense, monochromatic beam of light, Miss. Is that correct?"

The teacher smiled forcibly. "Why, yes it is. Well done, Master Agreste. Anyway..."

From then on, Adrien made an effort to concentrate a little harder, but it was difficult when all he wanted was for school to be over. By the time the last bell finally rang, Nino thought that his best friend might actually explode. Part of him wanted to ask what was going on. But then he remembered what Alya had told him about staying out of it and decided the better of it; he wished his friend a good afternoon, and then took his leave, running to catch up with Alya.

And then Adrien and Marinette were alone - again.

"So, Marinette. What did you want to do?"

"Well, for now, is going on a walk okay with you?" she asked, smiling at him and trying her best to keep eye contact with his steady gaze. Her face had turned a crimson red already.

"Sure, I don't mind. Come on, let's go - my dad won't be too happy if I'm out too late."

The couple began to walk. Once they were out of the school, they walked side-by-side on the street - close, but not too close. Adrien's hand itched to reach out and grab Marinette's, but he held back the urge. He was worried about startling her too much.

"So, what's going on? It's unusual for you to ask me out like this, Princess," said Adrien, glancing across at his girlfriend. She still wouldn't look at him.

"I don't know... I guess I just wanted to talk a walk with you, that's all. Isn't it nice?" responded Marinette. She suddenly looked at the floor, clutching her hands to her chest.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Don't you... d-don't you think you're l-lucky, Adrien?"

"Huh?" he didn't know what to say. It was such a random question, he thought. It could mean anything.

"Well. I mean... d-don't you think you're lucky to b-be... urgh." Adrien could almost hear her inner conflict. "Out on a walk with such a k-kind of cute girl like me?"

"Well-"

Before he could properly respond, Marinette interrupted him again. "I mean! J-just kind of cute! Wait, I said that, didn't I...?"

"Of course I feel lucky. Everyone's probably really jealous of me right now," he told her with a wink. _Adrien, your Chat is showing!_ He warned himself, mentally face-palming.

"Um. So anyway, where are you taking me?"

"Oh yeah! I guess we should go home."

"Wait, already?! We only just started walking, right?"

"No, I mean, just to my home!" Marinette said quickly, stopping in her tracks. "Only for a minute. We need to go back there, or..."

 _Mari's house?_ A million thoughts raced through Adrien's head. "Or what?" he asked, shoving his hand into his jean pockets as he felt the need to reach out and take her hand again.

"N-nothing, nothing! Please, Adrien? It won't take long."

"It's completely fine with me. Let's go."

They reached the bakery only about five minutes later, and within that time their conversation had almost slipped back into its normal tone. As soon as they opened the door, however, Marinette began to act strangely again.

"Good afternoon!" She called brightly. Her father looked up from the counter.

"Good afternoon, come on in- oh, Marinette, it's just you?" he asked, with a laugh. "And my boy Adrien, I see. I thought you were a customer for a few seconds there."

 _My boy._ Adrien's face grew slightly warm. It seemed like such an endearing term to him. In the few weeks that he had been dating Marinette, her family had felt more like a family to him than his father and Natalie ever had. It was times like these that he could only recall from before his mother had left.

"Well, today, that's because I am a customer. I'm here to buy a pastry," said Marinette, smiling at her father.

"You don't have to buy anything! Just take it," he said, before catching the look on his daughter's face. Knowing how stubborn she could be, he hastily added, "But... if you really want to, then go ahead and buy something. I'm going to go help your mother with something for a moment."

Once he had left, Marinette began to look around for something that she fancied. Adrien stood near the door, leaning against the shelf, and trying to distract himself from the warm, sugary smell of the bakery. "Your family is so close, you know. It seems really strange to me. Honestly, I don't think many people have families like yours."

"Really?" Marinette replied, picking out a cinnamon roll and carefully placing it in a paper bag. "I actually think we're quite average. Hey, um... would you possibly mind paying for this?"

"Oh, do you not have any money?" Adrien asked her, already rooting around in his pockets.

"Well, I do, but... you w-won't mind paying for it, right?" she seemed to hesitate for a fraction of a second before quietly adding, "B-because it's for me... right?"

Adrien stopped and stared at her for a moment. This was so unlike her usual self, and she was clearly uncomfortable - she still wouldn't meet his eyes, and was staring at the floor, her cheeks tinted pink. He began to form an idea of what was going on. "No, I wouldn't mind. How much is it?"

Breathing out an obviously heavy sigh of relief, Marinette relaxed a little. "It's €1.20."

"Alright, here you go."

"Even if there's nobody here, I'll just leave the money on the counter."

The pair left the shop, and Marinette led Adrien to the park that lay close to her house. He noticed that she had suddenly grown more tense than before, and she walked erratically, tripping over what seemed like thin air every now and then. They ended up sat together on a bench, but Marinette was turned slightly away from Adrien with her shoulders slightly hunched, nibbling at the cinnamon roll.

Adrien said the first thing that crept into his mind. "Is it good?" It certainly looked good, he thought. He was a sucker for pastries. He wasn't allowed them very often, though. His father was strict about sweets because of his modelling job. Not that it really mattered; running around as Chat Noir would burn off any calories he gained anyway.

"Oh, I'm so nervous... I can barely taste it... I-I mean! It's wonderful! A-and it tastes even better because you bought it for me..."

He couldn't help it then. His face flushed red, and he leaned back to look at the sky. The sun had started to set, and the cloudless blue was tinted with oranges and pinks. If he looked at Marinette any longer, he might not have been able to help himself from kissing her. Even when she was acting so unusual, he still loved her so much. "Would you be willing to allow me to have a taste then, Princess?"

"Sorry, you can't." her reply was so quick and decisive that he almost fell of the side of the bench. "Ugh, she said to be assertive, but... I meant... I'd really like it if I could have all of this cinnamon roll to myself, i-if that's okay with you."

Adrien sighed, turning back towards her, and was startled to see her facing the same way. Their gaze met for a moment, hers intense, but she quickly averted her eyes in embarrassment, staring at her dessert. "It's fine, Marinette. After all, I did buy it for you," he told her, also looking away.

"W-well, just because I want to eat it all, doesn't mean that you... can't enjoy it... s-some other way..." she set the cinnamon bun on her lap. And then, "Turn your head towards me."

His heart racing fast, Adrien did as she asked, finally locking eyes with her. He could practically see her emotions within the clear blue - apprehension, uncertainty, but also determination. "Is this okay?"

"Th-that's perfect," responded Marinette. Her heart was beating so hard, she thought it was going to burst out of her chest.

She closed her eyes. Adrien followed suit. He felt Marinette lean into him. He felt her breath on his face as she breathed in and exhaled. He smelled the cinnamon on her breath; so subtle and sweet, just like her. And then she leaned back again.

He opened his eyes again, staring steadily at her in confusion. And then, suddenly, he understood. He caught sight of her out of the corner of his eyes but kept them trained on Marinette, deciding how to make his move. Her voice was muffled outside of his own thoughts.

"Adrien, please stop staring at me like that and say something... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you so much... p-please, I'm going to cry if you just keep looking at me like that-"

"Alya! I see you."

Marinette leapt in shock, and Alya stood up from behind some bushes. "Heh... so you figured out what's going on, huh?" she asked, moving to stand in front of them.

"Yeah, I put the pieces together bit by bit. It was just too forced... and, although Mari may be shy, ever since earlier today she also seemed uncomfortable on top of that," Adrien said, crossing his arms. He was actually kind of proud of himself for figuring it out.

"Oh well." Alya seemed to be completely unfazed. "At least I got Marinette to ask you out on a date! I'd say that's project complete. Anyway, gotta dash!"

Adrien surged up to go after her and to get her to apologise to Marinette, but was halted when she grabbed the corner of his shirt. He glanced down at her, and she looked away again.

"I'm sorry, I can explain... Alya said that... well, she told me that I was still too shy around you, and that you were being reserved around me because you didn't want to scare me, and... that's why our relationship wasn't progressing," she told him, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "But I know I'm not actually scared of you, you just sometimes have the ability to make me incredibly nervous when I'm with you. And Alya knew that too. So she wanted to do something to help me and you to be more comfortable around each other. So I tried to follow the plan, but I kept stuttering, and you were confused, and I just... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone along with it. Honestly, I... wouldn't be surprised if you hated me now- oh!"

Marinette cut herself off when she felt Adrien's warm hand close itself around hers. Her face flamed up, and she looked over at him to see him sitting next to her and smiling.

"Mari, I couldn't never hate you. Not for all the bad dates or bad pickups or anything in the world." he stood up, pulling Marinette up with him. "Although Alya's plan probably wasn't the best way to go about fixing our problems, I think she's kind of correct, in a way. We have a bit longer before we have to part though, Princess. Is going for a walk still alright with you?"

"W-well, yeah, I have a little more time before I have to get home..."

"Where do you want to go, then?" Adrien asked. His hair glinted in the light of the setting sun.

"Oh, uh... anywhere's alright." her voice wavered. "As long as I'm with you, of course."

"You know what? I was thinking the same thing."

She moved closer to him. He could smell cinnamon and vanilla as their bodies touched, and she leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Then, uh... let's stay together forever."


End file.
